Contact: Phil Yost
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
office 408-501-7853; cell 408-394-1730
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

(See list below for full list of confirmed elite entrants)


Top U.S. Seed Scott Bauhs of Danville Ready for Pro Debut


(SAN JOSE) -- After an anticipated 8,500 recreational runners burn off
pre-holiday-dinner calories in the Applied Materials Silicon Valley
Turkey Trot run on November 27, 2008 (Thanksgiving Day) in San Jose, more
than 50 elite runners will compete in one of the fastest and most
competitive 5K races in the nation. The Synaptics Elite Athlete 5K is the
concluding event on a day that includes a 10K run and 5K run/walk for
mass participants, kid's fun runs, and an array of other races within the
event. The timing allows recreational participants to complete their
races and then watch elite runners compete. The Synaptics Elite 5K also
includes the Pacific Association/USA Track & Field Open Men's 5K
Championship (presented by Wells Fargo Bank) and Open Women's 5K
Championship (presented by Kaiser Permanente).

If it matches the 2007 race, the 2008 Synaptics Elite 5K, will vie for
honors as the fastest 5K in the United States in terms of depth in the
men's top times. In 2007, four runners completed the fast,
USATF-certified (for distance) 5K course under 13 minutes and 45 seconds,
and 10 runners finished under 14:15 - matching the '07 depth at the
traditionally fast Carlsbad 5000. Next fastest was the USA 5K (Road)
Championships, in which 8 runners beat 14:15.

This year's international field features some of the best 5K runners in
the world. Among the men, Julius Kiptoo and Josphat Boit of Kenya have
personal best 5K times of 13:06 and 13:17 respectively. Last year,
Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco won the fast men's race in 13:37, a course
record.

Also competing will be Danville, Calif. native and Chico State University
standout Scott Bauhs, 22, one of the fastest rising American distance
running stars. Bauhs' best 5K time of 13:31.90, set on the track, puts
him within reach of the U.S. road record of 13:24 (set by Marc Davis at
the Carlsbad 5000 in 1996). The Synaptics 5K will be Bauhs' first road
race as a professional, coming just five days after he competes at the
NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. Recently, Bauhs won the
2008 NCAA Division II western region cross country title.

"The Turkey Trot comes at the peak of my fitness, and I should be in the
hunt," Bauhs said. " I feel like I was capable of running that fast
(13:24) on the track last year, and I'm in that type of shape right now,
but it will depend how my legs feel just five days after I run a 10K (at
the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships). Cross country
nationals has been my focus, but the Turkey Trot can possibly be frosting
on top of my cross country season."

Bauhs' parents will run the mass participation race at the Turkey Trot
and then watch their son compete.

Other top runners with local connections in the men's field are Stanford
grad (2007) Brett Gotcher, a Watsonville native and 2006 NCAA
All-American, and Gabe Jennings, another former Stanford star, who
represented the U.S. in the 1,500 meters at the 2000 Olympic Games.

In the lightening-fast women's field, defending champion Rose Kosgei of
Kenya will try to top her fast winning time of 15:53, which beat 2008
U.S. Olympic standout Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco) by just one second.
Rowbury is taking a break following her efforts in Beijing, where she
recorded the fastest Olympic time at 1,500 meters ever by an American,
and will not compete.

The women's field also includes Teresa McWalters, a 2007 Stanford
graduate, 5-time All-American, and San Francisco native. McWalters
competed in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. She is
currently pursuing a master's degree in architecture at Harvard. 2008
Olympian (steeplechase) Barbara Parker of Great Britain, Kenyan Irene
Kimaiyo, and Ethiopians Meskerem Legesse, Aziza Aliyu, and Belainesh
Gebre are among the other top women competitors.

In its short, three-year history, the Synaptics Elite 5K has hosted 10
Olympians. The race is attractive to top competitors because it includes
a total prize purse of $24,700, a fast, spectator-friendly four-loop
course and a world-class international field. Any American man or woman
setting a new U.S. record (13:24-men, 14:54-women) will win a $5,000
bonus.

The Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot Run or Walk for Health,
Hope, and a Home benefits the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Housing Trust
of Santa Clara County, and the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation's
Children's Health Initiative. Last year's 3rd annual event drew more than
6,000 participants (all races) and raised more than $200,000 for these
charities.

The race was founded by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Event details and registration for the 2008 Applied Materials Silicon
Valley Turkey Trot are available via the event's web site at
http://svturkeytrot.com <http://svturkeytrot.com/> .

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